As time goes by
by Keyo-Red Angel of Hope
Summary: ONE SHOT. Time goes by and Rika voices some concerns, and Takato helps. RikatoRukato.


**Keyo Red Angel of Hope says:** I've been dabbling with ideas for a Rukato/Rikato one shot for awhile now, and this is the first one that's turned out as I'd like it to (and in the one sitting too). I hope you enjoy it.

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It was that point in summer where most people who are going away are away, traversing foreign lands as that rather terrifying, and profitable, being known as a tourist. As such, they had the park pretty much to themselves.

Lying back upon the grass, Rika could hear the noise generated by Guilmon and Calumon as they played hide and go seek, crying out in joy and victory when managing to rumble the other's hiding place, Guilmon having some difficulties in the 'hide' department thanks to his size. Right now they were trying to coerce Renamon into playing, the kitsune seeming to do her best to remain aloof, a task made a little easier as she lounged in the highest strong branch of a tree.

Rolling her head to the side, Rika turned her attention to Takato who lay next to her, his eyes on the clouds. Unlike his partner, the signs of time were more visible on her human friend. No longer did he sport a pair of yellow goggles on his forehead, and his once lanky body had become more toned, his frame now befitting a young man, his face too, having the appropriate shape. He was far from being 'macho', but he no longer resembled a walking set of pipe-cleaners with a cotton bud head.

His eyes twitched as he noticed her looking at him, and as he rolled his head around, she rolled her's back up.

"What's up Rika?" Takato asked, his voice soft and easy, befitting of the peaceful day.

"Nothin'." She replied simply, keeping her eyes on the clouds. She could just make out Takato from the corner of her eye though, looking at her a bit longer before rolling his head back up as well.

And so they remained in that silence for awhile longer, listening to the occasional song bird that wasn't scared off by the rampaging Digimon, crashing through the undergrowth in an effort to hunt down their vulpine friend who had finally been convinced to join the game, and was taking her turn to hide (and doing it very well).

"I…" Rika's voice made Takato's head tilt, allowing a better view. "I start university when this summer is over."

Takato rolled right around, his head supported in folded arms as he stomach lay upon the warm grass, his back cooling a little in the air. Ruki had his full attention now, and though she didn't move her head, Rika was no longer looking at the clouds. The news was nothing new, he had been present when she made a poor effort to feign nonchalance at her acceptance letter, so there was something else upon her mind.

"I…" She stopped, letting off a disgruntled sigh before rolling onto her side, giving Takato a full view of her back as she began picking at the grass before her. "Forget it."

The easy mood having dissapated, Takato allowed his eyes to narrow with a margin of concern, possibly because his temperamental friend couldn't see it happen, and therefore, could not reprimand him. Not changing his position, he took a shot.

"We haven't seen much of Henry since he went to Kyodai…" He watched the muscles in her back tense, knowing now that his guess was right.

Rika had probably changed the most since their days as kids who were in over their heads. Puberty had succeeded in changing her physically, almost directly against her will, cursing her with a womanly shape to rival her mother's, which was well hidden under a baggy tee-shirt, but it was the changes to her persona which were the greatest. She was still rather temperamental and stand-offish, but it was in a way that was simply regarded as 'how Rika was', no longer threatening her with perpetual isolation. The excess on these traits had been traded in for a warmth and kindness, though she was still rarely sappy about anything, and a level of empathy allowed her to simply accept the fact that people were going to worry about her when she faced some difficulties in life. But she still didn't _want_ people to worry about her, though she should have known Takato was rather an expert at worrying, and it was this expertise that gave him a pretty good guess as to what was bothering Rika. But he was also a bit of an expert on the girl in question, and he knew he had to approach the matter in a more round-about fashion to get her to open up.

"It's only Todai y'know…"

Ruki's body stiffened again, her eyes, hidden from Takato, widening as he brought up the keyword. He didn't say anything after that, just letting his unspoken argument against her concerns sink in, he knew Rika had a stubborn will and a tender heart, and that applying pressure often lead to a rather explosive reaction. Eventually, when Takato's stomach was getting sore from bearing his full weight, she spoke.

"I don't want to be who I was…" She confessed.

She could hear Takato shift as he pulled himself onto his side, now facing her back directly, giving her his full attention, and letting his friend pull together what she wanted to say and how. He had been inside Rika's defences a few times before, but rarely, if ever, was it because she had invited him.

"I'm not good at making friends…you're all the first friends I've ever really had." She continued, her body slowly coiling itself into something akin to the foetal position. "And that was pretty much all you…if I loose you, I don't think I'll be able to make new friends…and if I can't do that…"

She clammed up again, either unable, or not wanting to finish. As the silence fell between them again, she found herself watching Guilmon getting his head stuck in a bush, apparently the belief that Renamon may have been hiding inside. As his tail wagged in the air as he made an effort to free himself, Calumon danced around him, the little sugar ball's excitement over the game not allowing it to remain still as it seemed to cheer his large red friend on.

And Rika had tried to _kill_ him when they had first met.

She had bullied the boy who would become her best human friend and attempted to _kill_ his partner. These were acts she had long ago come to terms with, and thanks to the experiences they all shared, she could see how they had become such close friends. But if she were to be without these people, would she become that girl again? It had become harder and harder to spend time with the others as high school pulled them all in different directions, and if she was to be without these people who cared for the obnoxious, stubborn, temperamental person that she was, if she was to loose this boy who had come to mean so much to her…would she…?

Her attention was brought back to Takato when he took a turn to break the silence.

"We may not see Henry very often, but we still get to see him. And you aren't even leaving Tokyo." Rika rolled around, now facing Takato as the two now seemed to mirror each other, both with their heads propped up on one arm, face to face. "Neither of us have plans to leave Tokyo anytime soon, so you know I'll never be too far."

That was true, the Matsuda boy had found a job doing comic strips for one of the city's newspapers, and other than that seemed to simply be content with working in his family's bakery, it seemed the last days of childhood had given him his fill of adventure.

"And after then?" Rika pushed, apparently not satisfied. "What about after then, what if I leave Tokyo, what if I leave Japan? What if my life wants to take me where you aren't?" Her eyes drooped. She didn't like feeling things like this, and didn't like that Takato was able to pull them out of her.

"Maybe I'd go with you."

Her eyes shot back up to look into his, she hadn't expected that.

"But it would depend."

Her eyes narrowed a little, there was always a condition to things in life, and she wanted to know what Takato's was, what would tie him here. She could think of many things herself, there were many people in Takato's life who could make him stay.

"On what?" She asked, her eyes squeezing pressure on him. Takato had proven sponge like in the past, and that pressure could force information out of him rather easily.

"On whether you asked me to or not."

Slightly stunned by this, she failed to pull up a response as Takato drew upright and dusted his trousers off, proceeding to offer her his hand in a camaraderie fashion.

"C'mon, I'm pretty sure Renamon's just as willing to hide all day as Guilmon and Calumon are willing to look."

Sighing with a small air of content, Rika pushed her worries aside from now and accepted Takato's hand, giving him a look that told him he should be grateful the she had let him do it this one time.

"Dino-Boy couldn't find his way out of a cardboard box." Rika straightened up, keeping her hand in Takato's as the boy smirked at the inside joke. "C'mon Goggle Head."

Pulling on his hand, she began to lead him along into the woods, content to pull him along as he was to be pulled, following right behind her.

Rika wondered, for a moment, if they would be like this forever. Takato always just a step behind her, holding her hand, never out of her reach, following were she lead.

Then she stopped. She had not left Japan, she had not left Tokyo, she had not yet even gone to Todai. It was summer, she was in the park with her friends, and she was going to join in with the childish game played by their Digimon partners, and for now, at least, Takato was here with her, holding her hand. Maybe he would follow her further one day.

If she was able to ask him.

A small smile grace her lips.

"Ready or not Renamon, here we come!!" She cried.

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**Keyo - Red Angel of Hope says:** What the cast of the Tamers season would do when they were older is something that niggled at my mind when the series was over. Having recently come to university myself and watched as elements of my life sort of faded away, I found writing down some of Rika's thoughts rather easy.

Kyodai and Todia are the short hands for the University of Kyoto and Tokyo respectively, I felt that Takato would be the sort of person to use the short hand.

Incidentally, I think that Henry would be taking the Disaster Prevention course at Kyodai, with the way he and his life are, it seems a good choice for him.

Take care, and I hope you enjoyed reading this.


End file.
